Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Unexpected Joy, Cloud-Dream Palace”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After the destruction of Half-Piece City, Lu Bancheng and the Lu Clan disciples bow amid the ruins, expressing their submission and gratitude.
• Jiang Yuechu, Chen Yuan, Wang Chen, and the others depart by flying vessel for Jieqing Dao Sect.
• Wang Chen worries that the Lu Clan might betray them by revealing their involvement in the deaths of the Wusang Sect disciples. Chen Yuan explains that the Lu Clan has little choice but to remain loyal: Wusang Sect will likely punish the Half-Piece Chamber of Commerce regardless of the clan’s innocence.
• The Lu Clan plans to abandon Half-Piece City and relocate near Jieqing Dao Sect for protection. Their accumulated wealth and connections should eventually allow them to rebuild.
• Wang Chen reflects excitedly on the merit rewards and gifts they earned, considering whether to exchange them for a treasured pill or a powerful magical artifact.
• At the heart of the Cloud-Dream Realm, Black Abyss, a terrifying Great Demon of the Painting Realm, arrives at the Cloud-Dream Palace to report to the mysterious Palace Lord.
• Inside the palace, Black Abyss finds numerous Supreme Realm Great Demons standing silently beneath the Palace Lord’s authority. He reports that the palace’s prodigies encountered a troublesome obstruction while investigating the newly emerged Immortal-God Cave Abode.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Outwardly remains calm, cold, and dignified, but inwardly is ecstatic. Among the spoils from Half-Piece City, she discovers Sima Tang’s powerful Spirit Art Realm technique, the Blood Palm Art. She recognizes it as an extraordinary inheritance capable of serving as the foundation of a sect and considers her gains almost unbelievable.
• Chen Yuan: Reveals the frustration and resignation behind his composed exterior. Once considered a rare genius, he has been unable to advance beyond the Four-Son Realm after entering the highly competitive Jieqing Dao Sect. Much of his earned wealth has gone toward supporting his impoverished clan, leaving him feeling that his ambitions have been exhausted.
• Wang Chen: Begins anxiously concerned about the risks of trusting the Lu Clan, then becomes relieved after learning of their relocation plans. His greed and excitement over the rewards briefly cause him to forget Chen Yuan’s painful stagnation, highlighting his youth and lack of sensitivity.
• Lu Clan: Their decision to relocate demonstrates pragmatic survival instincts. They sacrifice their established base in Half-Piece City to escape Wusang Sect’s inevitable retaliation and secure Jieqing Dao Sect’s protection.
• Black Abyss: Despite being a terrifying Painting Realm demon, he behaves with extreme caution and fear before the Palace Lord, emphasizing the immense power hierarchy within Cloud-Dream Palace.
• The Palace Lord: Remains mysterious and unseen, but their presence alone suppresses the surrounding demons and even the laws of heaven and earth.

Significant Themes

• Fortune gained through danger: The characters’ rewards—including merit, treasures, a Dao-Union Relic, and the Blood Palm Art—come at the cost of risking their lives.
• Power and hierarchy: The fear displayed by Black Abyss and the submission of countless Supreme Realm demons establish the Palace Lord as an overwhelming existence.
• The cruelty of cultivation society: Chen Yuan’s story shows how talent can be rendered insignificant in a major sect and how family obligations can consume a cultivator’s opportunities.
• Pragmatism and survival: The Lu Clan abandons its wealth and homeland rather than risk annihilation by Wusang Sect.
• Hidden emotions beneath calm appearances: Jiang Yuechu’s serene exterior conceals intense excitement, while Chen Yuan’s steady demeanor hides grief, loneliness, and regret.
• Uncertain future conflict: The mention of the Immortal-God Cave Abode and the “troublesome obstruction” foreshadows larger struggles involving the Cloud-Dream Palace and its demonic forces.

Character Interactions

• Wang Chen seeks Chen Yuan’s reassurance about the Lu Clan, while Chen Yuan responds with cautious reasoning and explains the clan’s relocation.
• Wang Chen’s enthusiasm over the rewards unintentionally reminds Chen Yuan of his inability to advance, creating a brief moment of awkwardness and exposing Chen Yuan’s hidden pain.
• Chen Yuan repeatedly looks toward Jiang Yuechu, viewing her confidence and power as something far beyond his own reach.
• The final section shifts from the human cultivators to Black Abyss’s fearful audience with the Palace Lord, contrasting the group’s personal concerns with the immense supernatural power governing the wider realm.

Chapter Summary: “The Third Dao Chess”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu and the other expedition members return to the Jieqing Sect after completing their mission involving the Half-Piece Chamber of Commerce and the Wusang Sect.
• Because the Half-Piece Chamber of Commerce had surrendered completely, the expedition earns a large amount of merit. Chen Yuan distributes the rewards and promises to inform Jiang Yuechu if the Wusang Sect causes trouble or makes inquiries.
• Back at Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Grove, Jiang Yuechu reviews the spoils of the expedition. Among them are the corpses of the Five-Son Demon—a black-haired wild boar—and two Wolf Demons from the Southern Immortal Palace.
• She spends over 600,000 years of Dao Cultivation to condense the wild boar and the two wolves into three Chessmaster-Realm demon bodies.
• Although Jiang Yuechu has nearly nine million years of Dao Cultivation remaining, she realizes that her resources are limited because she must improve her techniques, empower demons, and continue producing stronger demon bodies.
• Before condensing her third Dao Chess, she improves the Hell-Suppressing Evil-Subduing Chess-Condensing Chapter from beginner level to proficiency, costing her 430,000 years of Dao Cultivation.
• Using the Dao-Union Relic and her newly improved technique, she forms a new black-mist Dao Chess bearing an ancient talisman. Its initial quality surpasses the ordinary level and reaches the Treasure Grade, nearly Spirit Grade.
• Jiang Yuechu inserts the two Wolf Demon bodies into the new Dao Chess. Their power elevates it from Treasure Grade to Spirit Grade, triggering spectacular heavenly phenomena: torn clouds, surging spiritual qi, immortal cranes, and celestial music.
• She attempts to insert the black-haired wild boar demon body as well, but the Dao Chess rejects it. This confirms her suspicion that, without a technique such as Chess Beast Command, she can only insert demons of the same type.
• The chapter ends with the new Spirit-Grade Dao Chess successfully condensed and Jiang Yuechu preparing to examine the journey’s most important remaining reward.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu demonstrates increasing mastery and strategic planning. Rather than recklessly condensing Dao Chess immediately, she strengthens her Chess-Condensing Method first to avoid wasting valuable materials.
• Her personality remains practical and somewhat lazy; she dislikes having profound technical knowledge forcibly implanted into her mind, but she still prioritizes efficiency and long-term advancement.
• She also shows restraint and composure. Even after producing a Spirit-Grade Dao Chess and causing extraordinary heavenly signs, she treats the achievement as merely foundational rather than something worthy of celebration.
• Chen Yuan is established as a reliable and respectful sect disciple who handles the expedition’s rewards and offers to keep Jiang Yuechu informed about possible political consequences involving the Wusang Sect.
• Lu Bancheng is indirectly significant through the rosewood box and Dao-Union Relic he previously gave Jiang Yuechu.

Significant Themes

• Preparation before advancement: Jiang Yuechu emphasizes improving her technique before using rare materials, showing that power depends not only on resources but also on mastery.
• Resource management: Dao Cultivation is abundant but limited relative to her ambitions, forcing her to calculate every expenditure carefully.
• Transformation and refinement: Ordinary demon corpses become powerful Chessmaster-Realm bodies, while a Treasure-Grade Dao Chess is elevated to Spirit Grade through the proper demon components.
• Limits of power and compatibility: The rejection of the wild boar body highlights that advancement has rules; strength alone cannot overcome incompatibility without the correct technique.
• Ambition beyond conventional standards: A Spirit-Grade Dao Chess would be a momentous achievement for ordinary cultivators, but Jiang Yuechu sees it only as a foundation for greater development.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and Chen Yuan: Chen Yuan formally reports the merits and promises future information about the Wusang Sect. Jiang Yuechu accepts the reward and leaves without unnecessary conversation.
• Jiang Yuechu and Lu Bancheng: Though Lu Bancheng does not appear directly, the Dao-Union Relic he gifted becomes the key material used to condense the third Dao Chess.
• Jiang Yuechu and her demon bodies: She treats the demons as strategic components of her cultivation system, successfully merging the two Wolf Demon bodies into the new Dao Chess while being unable to incorporate the incompatible wild boar body.

Jiang Yuechu learned the Blood Palm Art, then visited the Jieqing Sect and discovered that the Cloud-Dream Palace had entered the Immortal-God Cave Abode early. True Lord Linghan revealed that the cave abode might contain an Incomplete Dao Painting, leaving the sect scrambling to respond.

• Jiang Yuechu spent 4,589,322 years of Dao Cultivation to advance the Blood Palm Art to beginner and examined its power.
• Jiang Yuechu decided to visit the Five-Qi Treasure Grounds to try to condense a fourth Dao Chess piece.
• Jiang Yuechu arrived at the Jieqing Sect’s Steward Hall and asked True Lord Linghan what had caused the commotion.
• True Lord Linghan explained that the Cloud-Dream Palace had entered the Immortal-God Cave Abode ahead of schedule.
• True Lord Linghan revealed that the cave abode might contain an Incomplete Dao Painting.

Three demons from the Cloud-Dream Palace destroyed the Incense-Fire Golden Bodies defending Drinking-Horse Reach and prepared to search for the Dao Painting. A white-robed man emerged from a sea of red mist as the demons turned to face him.

• The demons on Drinking-Horse Reach trembled as a battle in the sky battered the island with devastating shock waves.
• The three Great Demons overwhelmed the Incense-Fire Golden Bodies, and the final one scattered without reforming.
• The leading demon warned that the Dao Sects would soon enter the world and insisted the demons secure the Dao Painting first.
• The single-horned tiger questioned how they could locate the Dao Painting, whose aura drifted unpredictably.
• The leading demon revealed that they did not need to search, and a white-robed man stepped out of distant red mist.

Mo Qianxun confronted three Great Demons of the Cloud-Dream Palace to protect the Dao Painting, while True Lord Linghan explained to Jiang Yuechu what Dao Paintings were and the cost of reaching the painting realm. Jiang Yuechu realized the demons were likely after Great Tang’s Dao Painting and feared for her homeland.

• Mo Qianxun challenged the three Great Demons and unleashed a sea of fire, determined to keep the Dao Painting from outsiders even if he died.
• True Lord Linghan told Jiang Yuechu that Dao Paintings were worlds that could serve as vessels for cultivators to enter the painting realm.
• True Lord Linghan explained that most painting realm cultivators destroyed all life in their Painted Worlds to preserve their own reserves.
• Jiang Yuechu connected the Southern Immortal Palace’s search for boundary-breakers to its likely hunt for Great Tang’s Dao Painting.
• Jiang Yuechu feared that if the demons claimed the Dao Painting, they could erase Great Tang and everyone in it.

Jiang Yuechu resolved to stop the demons and protect the world rather than continue hiding in the Jieqing Sect. At Hundred Flowers Valley, the sect master learned the Immortal-God Cave Abode would open in one day and prepared to send selected disciples in early.

• Jiang Yuechu recalled how she had once faced powerful enemies without hesitation and decided Great Tang would not be theirs to threaten.
• Cultivators from various sects arrived at Hundred Flowers Valley, but their sect masters stayed away because they distrusted the valley.
• Yun Shang reported that the cave abode’s barrier was weakening and that it would fully open in one day.
• The Hundred Flowers Sect Master ordered Elder Yun Xing to warn the visiting disciples and told Yun Shang to gather the disciples she had selected.
• The Hundred Flowers Sect Master hinted that Hundred Flowers Valley would use its own methods to let its disciples enter ahead of time, alarming Yun Shang and Elder Yun Xing.

Chapter Summary: “Starting from Here”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Yuechu and the Jieqing Sect disciples travel aboard a flying vessel toward the Immortal-God Cave Abode in the Cloud-Dream Realm. The disciples are visibly nervous because entering the cave abode will scatter them randomly, potentially separating them from allies.
• Linghan True Lord tries to reassure everyone, though his own anxiety reveals that he has never entered the cave abode before. He advises the group to treat the journey as a trial, prioritize survival, and seek high-grade Dao-Union Relics or lost Spirit Art Realm techniques rather than recklessly pursuing a Dao Painting.
• Lin Feiyan and her senior brother approach Jiang Yuechu. Lin Feiyan sits beside Jiang and acts unusually familiar, while her senior brother is awkward and reserved. She appears eager to reveal that she possesses a special identity as a personal disciple, but Jiang Yuechu remains completely calm and shows no surprise.
• Lin Feiyan asks Linghan True Lord about the cave abode. He warns that the greatest danger comes not only from the other Nine Great Dao Sects but also from the vicious forces of Cloud-Dream Palace. He stresses that retreating is preferable to dying pointlessly.
• Elsewhere, Mo Qianxun has been defeated and severely wounded by three powerful Cloud-Dream Palace demons. They demand that he surrender a Dao Painting, but he refuses and insults them despite being tortured.
• The Skywater Qilin stops the tiger demon from continuing the torture, declaring that they can search for the Dao Painting themselves. It reveals that, once Cloud Dream’s forces obtain the painting and enter the Painting Realm, they intend to slaughter every living being in the world.
• The Skywater Qilin decides that they will begin their search at the current location, signaling that a large-scale catastrophe may soon begin.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu: Remains detached, observant, and difficult to unsettle. She recognizes that Lin Feiyan is not an ordinary inner disciple but chooses not to expose or question her.
• Linghan True Lord: Presents himself as an experienced elder despite his own nervousness and lack of firsthand knowledge. His advice emphasizes pragmatism and survival over pride or glory.
• Lin Feiyan: Shows a lively, outgoing personality and clear admiration or curiosity toward Jiang Yuechu. She has planned to impress Jiang with her hidden status but becomes frustrated when Jiang refuses to react.
• Mo Qianxun: Demonstrates extreme defiance and courage. Even while being tortured and facing certain death, he refuses to surrender the Dao Painting or show submission to the demons.
• Skywater Qilin: Establishes itself as the strongest and highest-ranking member of the demon group. It is cold, strategic, and willing to destroy the entire world to achieve Cloud-Dream Palace’s goals.
• Tiger Demon: Is brutal, short-tempered, and sadistic, but ultimately submits to the Skywater Qilin’s authority.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus pride: Linghan advises retreat when necessary, while Mo Qianxun embodies uncompromising defiance, creating contrasting approaches to danger.
• Hidden identities and perception: Lin Feiyan’s concealed status contrasts with Jiang Yuechu’s sharp insight and refusal to be impressed by appearances.
• Power and hierarchy: The demons’ interaction demonstrates the rigid dominance of the Skywater Qilin over its companions.
• The cost of ambition: The pursuit of the Dao Painting carries immense danger, while Cloud-Dream Palace’s willingness to annihilate the world shows the destructive scale of its ambitions.
• Courage under overwhelming power: Mo Qianxun’s resistance suggests that dignity and loyalty can survive even when victory is impossible.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Yuechu and Linghan True Lord share a quiet exchange in which he attempts to calm her and the surrounding disciples, though his nervousness undermines his reassurance.
• Lin Feiyan approaches Jiang Yuechu enthusiastically and forces a familiar relationship, while Jiang responds with restrained politeness and emotional distance.
• Lin Feiyan uses flattery to draw Linghan True Lord into explaining the cave abode, allowing him to perform the role of a knowledgeable elder.
• The tiger demon tortures and mocks Mo Qianxun, but Mo responds with insults, provoking the demon’s rage.
• The Skywater Qilin interrupts the torture, overrules the tiger demon, and reveals the demons’ plan to search for the Dao Painting and potentially destroy the world.

The Jieqing Sect arrived at Hundred Flowers Valley as factions gathered for the opening of the Immortal-God Cave Abode. True Lord Linghan again urged Jiang Yuechu to join the sect as a direct disciple, while Hundred Flowers Valley arranged for the visitors to camp outside its Painted World.

• Lin Feiyan admired Hundred Flowers Valley as the flying ship descended, while True Lord Linghan praised Jiang Yuechu's composure and described the valley's strengths.
• True Lord Linghan explained that joining the Jieqing Sect as a direct disciple would give Jiang Yuechu access to exchanges between the Nine Great Dao Sects, but she answered, "We'll see."
• The Jieqing Sect's flying ship landed outside Hundred Flowers Valley, where a deacon greeted the group and confirmed that their leader was Lingxu True Lord.
• The deacon explained that many sects and rogue cultivators had gathered because of the Immortal-God Cave Abode, so Hundred Flowers Valley would keep its Painted World closed and have the Jieqing Sect camp outside.
• Elder Lingxu accepted Hundred Flowers Valley's precautions, recognizing the danger of letting a large crowd into the sect's heartland.

As the Immortal-God Cave Abode’s opening was moved to the next morning, Lingxu True Lord urged the Jieqing disciples to treat the expedition as a trial and return alive. In Great Tang, the Incense-and-Fire Path collapsed and the Eldest Princess’s Golden Body vanished, leaving the court awaiting news of her fate and the Lu Clan’s young master.

• True Lord Jing Shui told Lingxu True Lord and the Jieqing disciples that the cave abode might open the next morning and that the sects would enter together at Worldbreak Gorge.
• Lingxu True Lord reassured the disciples that the expedition was primarily a trial and urged them to flee any Great Demon they could not defeat.
• Martial artists across Great Tang lost their Spirit Imprints and more than half their cultivation, then crowded into empty True Lord Temples searching for the Eldest Princess.
• Demon-Suppression Guards and court officials struggled to control the crowds as they also feared the True Lord had fallen.
• The emperor waited with Bai Yulou, Zhao Zhongliu, and other officials until four demons arrived, then asked whether they had brought the Lu Clan’s young master.

Lu Changfeng explained that Jiang Yuechu was likely still alive despite the disappearance of her Golden Bodies and the loss of cultivation among Great Tang's incense-fire martial artists. Meanwhile, the Hundred Flowers Sect sent its disciples into the contest early to hold back the Cloud-Dream Palace demons, even at the cost of their lives.

• The emperor learned from Lu Changfeng that Jiang Yuechu's Golden Bodies had vanished and that seven-tenths of Great Tang's incense-fire martial artists had lost their cultivation.
• Lu Changfeng explained that Jiang Yuechu's survival was likely because the martial artists had lost cultivation without suffering fatal backlash, then began outlining possible reasons the Golden Bodies vanished.
• The Hundred Flowers Sect's sect master ordered Yun Shang and dozens of direct disciples to enter the contest early and hold back the Cloud-Dream Palace demons, even if they died.
• The sect master urged the disciples to fight for humanity's future, and they accepted the command and bowed farewell to Hundred Flowers Valley.
• The disciples followed their sect master toward the Immortal-God Cave Abode, while Yun Shang remained behind to watch them depart.

Chapter Summary: “Purple Qi Filled the Air”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lu Changfeng explains two possible reasons why all of Jiang Yuechu’s Golden Bodies have vanished and her Incense-Fire Power has been cut off:
  1. Jiang Yuechu deliberately severed the connection.
  2. Her Golden Bodies acted independently to intercept a catastrophic disaster threatening Great Tang, and were destroyed in the process.
• Because Jiang Yuechu would never willingly abandon her followers, the court concludes that the second possibility is more likely.
• The Emperor orders an empire-wide investigation into any hidden calamity. He places Great Tang under martial law, closes regional gates, mobilizes border forces, and threatens immediate execution for anyone spreading rumors or causing unrest.
• Lu Changfeng privately remembers information from the old Red Flood Dragon suggesting that Jiang Yuechu’s true body had temporarily left Great Tang. He becomes increasingly worried because she has neither returned nor sent any message despite the destruction of her Golden Bodies.
• Choosing to support Jiang Yuechu, Lu Changfeng secretly activates an ancient talisman and sends a message toward Phoenix Perch Mountain.
• That night, Chang’an remains tense. Martial artists who converted to the Incense-Fire path gather outside the empty True Lord Temple, refusing to leave despite official reassurances.
• Cui Yuan guards the temple and reflects on Jiang Yuechu’s astonishing rise from a promising young martial artist to the deity and spiritual pillar of Great Tang.
• A terrifying new crisis suddenly appears: vast purple mist covers the sky above Chang’an, concealing the moon, while three enormous black figures emerge and look down upon the city.

Character Developments

• Lu Changfeng shifts from uncertainty to decisive loyalty. Though he fears Jiang Yuechu may have suffered a disaster, he suppresses his doubts and secretly sends aid or a warning to her allies.
• The Emperor responds to the unexplained crisis with increasingly severe measures. His anxiety turns into authoritarian control as he attempts to protect the empire from both supernatural danger and internal disorder.
• Jiang Yuechu remains absent, but her character is reinforced through others’ memories: she is fiercely protective, immensely powerful, and unlikely to abandon Great Tang voluntarily. Her disappearance becomes the chapter’s central mystery.
• Cui Yuan shows regret and humility while recalling that he once underestimated Jiang Yuechu and jokingly suggested she enter the imperial palace. He now recognizes how far above ordinary martial artists she has risen.
• The old Red Flood Dragon, though mostly off-page, influences events by revealing Jiang Yuechu’s disappearance to Lu Changfeng.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and protection: The possibility that Jiang Yuechu’s Golden Bodies sacrificed themselves to shield Great Tang emphasizes her role as its unseen guardian.
• Uncertainty and hidden catastrophe: The empire appears peaceful even as its divine defenses collapse, suggesting that the true danger may lie beyond ordinary detection.
• Faith and dependence: The Incense-Fire path gives Great Tang’s martial artists confidence, but its sudden severing exposes how dependent society has become on Jiang Yuechu’s power.
• Political control amid fear: The Emperor’s martial-law decrees show how quickly fear can transform a stable government into a heavily repressive one.
• The limits of human understanding: Even powerful figures cannot determine what happened to Jiang Yuechu or identify the approaching threat.

Character Interactions

• Lu Changfeng explains the Golden Bodies’ possible fate to the Emperor and the assembled officials.
• The Emperor questions officials from the Demon Suppression Office, but Bai Yulou and Zhao Zhongliu report that no disasters or major demon activity have been detected anywhere in Great Tang.
• Lu Changfeng conceals part of what he knows from the Emperor, then acts independently by sending a secret talisman message.
• Cui Yuan watches over the frightened believers outside the True Lord Temple, reflecting on his former relationship with Jiang Yuechu and her extraordinary transformation.
• The chapter ends with Cui Yuan and the gathered crowd confronted by three colossal black figures emerging from purple mist, introducing an immediate and seemingly world-threatening enemy.

Three Great Demons descended on Chang'an, and Great Tang’s hidden martial force rose to defend the city but was swiftly defeated. The Skywater Qilin found no trace of the Dao Painting and prepared to leave, while the Eldest Princess remained absent.

• Cui Yuan spotted the demons above Chang'an and called for the Commander-in-Chief as Great Tang’s leaders gathered to face them.
• Bai Yulou summoned more than a dozen powerful martial artists whose cultivation had been secretly restored with breakthrough pills from the Elixir Cauldron Sect.
• The High Ancestor asked the Skywater Qilin why the demons had come, but the horned tiger demon dismissed him and refused to negotiate.
• The High Ancestor ordered an attack, and the tiger demon shattered the warriors’ assault and sent them crashing back toward Chang'an.
• Chang'an’s citizens hoped the Eldest Princess would appear, but she did not; the Skywater Qilin then said there was no trace of the Dao Painting and decided to leave.

The Skywater Qilin and the other Cloud-Dream Palace demons confronted the arriving Hundred Flowers Valley disciples, whose coordinated array badly wounded the tiger demon. The Skywater Qilin broke the array and killed its sixteen disciples, then declared that humans had no right to challenge him.

• The Skywater Qilin and the tiger demon prepared to kill the humans when peach-pink mist broke through the purple barrier and dozens of Hundred Flowers Valley disciples arrived.
• The Skywater Qilin summoned his Demon Palace and shattered the disciples’ first combined attack, while the tiger and black bird demons revealed their own Demon Palaces.
• The Hundred Flowers Valley disciples formed their sixteen-form killing array and wounded the tiger demon with its linked techniques.
• The disciples combined their forms into a blood-red flower and began tearing the tiger demon apart until he called for help.
• The Skywater Qilin shattered the blood flower with one hand, killing the sixteen disciples, and taunted the humans for daring to look at their heaven.

The Skywater Qilin overwhelmed Chang'an, leaving Great Tang with almost no strength to resist. The High Ancestor and the survivors rallied for one final charge, but the Qilin answered with a heaven-shattering palm strike.

• The Hundred Flowers Valley disciples formed an array and charged the Skywater Qilin, though two had already died and the survivors were badly wounded.
• The High Ancestor lamented that Great Tang could only watch others die, as Old Red Flood Dragon, Niu Ben, Hu Cuihua, Demon Emperor Juechen, Lu Changfeng, and Zhou Xuan arrived to stand with him.
• Old Red Flood Dragon overcame his thoughts of fleeing, while Lu Changfeng renewed his resolve despite fearing his decision to commit the Lu Clan's reserves had been reckless.
• The High Ancestor led Great Tang's remaining fighters in a charge toward the heavens, joined by the demons, Lu Changfeng, and Zhou Xuan's Elixir Cauldron Sect cultivators.
• The Skywater Qilin gathered the purple qi and swept his palm down toward the charging fighters, forming a colossal palm shadow that blotted out the sky.

Lin Feiyan invited Jiang Yuechu to sneak out and inspect the Immortal-God Cave Abode before it opened. They reached the edge of a barren mountain range, where Lin Feiyan warned that powerful cultivators were watching the entrance ahead.

• Lin Feiyan visited Jiang Yuechu at night and awkwardly claimed she had come for a stroll.
• Lin Feiyan revealed that she had learned the cave abode’s location and invited Jiang Yuechu to look around its outskirts.
• Jiang Yuechu considered the risks, then told Lin Feiyan to lead the way.
• Jiang Yuechu and Lin Feiyan secretly left the Hundred Flowers Valley camp and traveled across barren mountains.
• Lin Feiyan stopped Jiang Yuechu near the cave abode and warned that the Cloud-Dream Palace’s great demons and the Nine Great Dao Sects’ powerful cultivators were watching ahead.

Jiang Yuechu sensed something and flew alone toward the Immortal-God Cave Abode, leaving Lin Feiyan to warn the Jieqing Sect. As Chang'an’s defenders lay near defeat beneath the Skywater Qilin, the Infernal Suppression Evil-Subduing Palace arrived.

• Jiang Yuechu stopped Lin Feiyan from returning with her and said she still had something to do.
• Jiang Yuechu flew toward the Immortal-God Cave Abode, and Lin Feiyan hurried back to the Jieqing Sect’s encampment to report her departure.
• Lu Changfeng, the Old Red Flood Dragon, Hu Cuihua, and the other survivors lay gravely wounded among Chang'an’s ruins.
• The Skywater Qilin watched the city’s defenders fall as the tiger demon silently judged its anger.
• Golden light blazed across the sky as the Infernal Suppression Evil-Subduing Palace descended upon Chang'an.

Jiang Yuechu revealed herself above Chang'an and attacked the wounded Tiger Demon, giving the city’s people hope. She badly injured him with Parting Flame and extreme cold, but he survived and realized Skywater Qilin was mocking him.

• Cui Yuan recognized the new Great Demon as Jiang Yuechu, and Chang'an’s citizens rallied around her appearance.
• Jiang Yuechu ignored Skywater Qilin and struck the wounded Tiger Demon with her scarlet flaming sword.
• The black-feathered bird Demon attacked Jiang Yuechu from behind, but she used the blow to drive her sword deeper into the Tiger Demon.
• Jiang Yuechu stabbed the Tiger Demon beneath the jaw with a spike of extreme cold, forcing him to retreat after he summoned broken armor to protect himself.
• The Tiger Demon realized Skywater Qilin was mocking him for being singled out by Jiang Yuechu.

Jiang Yuechu fought the wounded Tiger Demon alone after the Skywater Qilin insisted on testing its subordinate, and killed it with her staff and Spirit Art Realm power. With two demons and the purple-robed man still in the sky, Lu Changfeng wondered whether she could keep fighting.

• The Skywater Qilin ordered the black bird demon to stay out of Jiang Yuechu's fight so the Tiger Demon could prove its mettle.
• Jiang Yuechu put away her blades and drew the Ten Directions Mountains-and-Rivers Staff to face the Tiger Demon.
• Jiang Yuechu battered the Tiger Demon with her staff, then struck its chest with a blood-red Spirit Art Realm attack.
• Jiang Yuechu smashed the Tiger Demon's head and gained 3,359,425 years of Dao Cultivation.
• The people of Chang'an cheered, while Lu Changfeng and the other martial artists worried about the two remaining demons and the purple-robed man.

Chapter Summary: Contest of Heaven’s Chosen

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fine rain falls over the ruins of Chang’an, washing away the blood of the demons slain in battle.
• The Skywater Qilin observes the corpse of the Eight-Piece Chessmaster tiger demon, who was killed by Jiang Yuechu despite her being only at the Third-Move Chessmaster Realm.
• He recognizes the extraordinary nature of her victory, admitting internally that even he could not have defeated an Eight-Piece Chessmaster while at the Third-Move Realm.
• The Skywater Qilin questions why Jiang Yuechu would risk her life to protect ordinary human cultivators, whom he considers insignificant “ants.”
• Jiang Yuechu does not directly answer. Instead, she recalls the people who helped and supported her throughout her journey, including Wei He, Wei Qing, Zhao Zhongliu, her imperial ancestor, and her emperor brother.
• She refuses to abandon those people, regardless of how powerful or exalted she has become.
• The Skywater Qilin dismisses her loyalty as youthful idealism, explaining that he once felt similarly but eventually came to regard emotional bonds and responsibilities as burdens on the path to supreme cultivation.
• Jiang Yuechu remains silent and resolute, preparing herself to continue fighting rather than accepting his worldview.
• The Skywater Qilin reveals his scarred, heavily scaled body and declares that Cloud-Dream Palace’s chosen are not sheltered heirs but warriors who earned their status through endless slaughter.
• He summons two Immortal-Grade Dao Chess pieces and manifests a powerful dragon-scale spear.
• He warns Jiang Yuechu that if she dies, no human will avenge her, whereas if he dies, the powerful members of his race will retaliate by slaughtering every human she is protecting.
• The chapter ends with the Skywater Qilin confidently declaring that Jiang Yuechu has no chance of victory.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yuechu is established as an exceptionally gifted and powerful cultivator, capable of killing an opponent five realms above her. Her strength is matched by an unwavering sense of loyalty and responsibility.
• Rather than seeing her attachments as weaknesses, Jiang Yuechu’s memories show that her bonds with others helped shape her rise. She refuses to sacrifice them merely to pursue greater personal power.
• The Skywater Qilin shifts from disdainful indifference to genuine respect and serious hostility toward Jiang Yuechu. He acknowledges her as a peerless talent but cannot understand her willingness to protect weaker humans.
• His scars and words reveal that his own strength was also earned through hardship and battle, though his experiences led him to abandon youthful idealism in favor of ruthless pragmatism.
• The contrast between the two characters becomes sharper: Jiang Yuechu retains compassion despite her power, while the Skywater Qilin believes emotional attachments ultimately obstruct the pursuit of the Dao.

Significant Themes

• Power versus compassion: The chapter questions whether supreme strength requires abandoning empathy and personal bonds.
• The value of ordinary people: Jiang Yuechu rejects the Skywater Qilin’s hierarchical view that weak humans are expendable.
• Youthful idealism versus hardened pragmatism: The Skywater Qilin sees loyalty as immature idealism, while Jiang Yuechu treats it as a source of meaning and motivation.
• The cost of cultivation: Both characters have survived immense violence, but they drew opposite conclusions from it—one embracing detachment, the other preserving her connections.
• Moral responsibility and sacrifice: Jiang Yuechu is willing to risk her life for others, even when doing so may bring no practical reward and could endanger everyone she protects.

Character Interactions

• The Skywater Qilin challenges Jiang Yuechu’s motives and attempts to undermine her belief in protecting weaker humans.
• Jiang Yuechu largely refuses to engage verbally, answering his accusations through her continued healing and preparation for battle.
• His recollection of his own past creates a brief moment of understanding between them, but this fades when he sees that she will not abandon her convictions.
• Their ideological disagreement develops directly into a physical confrontation, with the Skywater Qilin drawing his weapon and asserting overwhelming confidence in his victory.

Skywater Qilin unleashed his full strength against Jiang Yuechu, but she caught his spear and wounded him with a powerful palm strike. He then drew the remaining Dao Chess pieces into his body and attacked her with the Heavenly One Divine Hand, leaving Chang'an’s defenders staring at overwhelming heavenly power.

• Skywater Qilin reinforced his body with an Immortal-Grade Dao Chess piece and attacked Jiang Yuechu with the Demon-Defeating Eight Spears.
• Jiang Yuechu caught the spear in her wounded palm, then struck Skywater Qilin’s chest and shattered his armor and scales.
• Jiang Yuechu realized her two hundred thousand years of Dao Cultivation only gave her a slight advantage and resolved to finish the fight quickly.
• Skywater Qilin refused to yield and drew his remaining seven Dao Chess pieces into his body.
• Skywater Qilin unleashed the Heavenly One Divine Hand, summoning an Azure Dragon Black Elephant that descended on Jiang Yuechu as Chang'an’s defenders lost hope.